As former hero Ortega plans to win the upcoming election, more Nicaraguans prepare to leave

Ortega’s repression in the run-up to the November election aims at decapitating any potential uprising, reports Ahmed Aboudouh

A poster promoting Nicaragua President Ortega as a presidential candidate (REUTERS)

It was dark when French-Nicaraguan journalist Fabrice Le Lous felt three cars were following him that night. This was in the summer of 2018, shortly after the massive popular uprising that had shaken Nicaragua for months.

“I was with a fellow journalist colleague, and we were exiting La Prensa”, he recalled to The Independent, referring to Nicaraguan biggest newspaper.

By that time, more than 300 opponents of former revolutionary hero Daniel Ortega and his wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo, were thrown in jail when the protests over retirement reforms quickly became a national revolt.